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Santa Rosa County, FL Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Circuit Court, First Judicial Circuit, Santa Rosa County; probate is a division of the Circuit Court, not a separate court |
| Filing office | Clerk of Court & Comptroller (Jason D. English, Esq.) |
| Courthouse | Santa Rosa County Courthouse, 4025 Avalon Boulevard, Milton, FL 32583 (Central Time); this courthouse opened in 2022 and replaced the old downtown courthouse at 6865 Caroline Street |
| Branch office | South End Service Center, 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze, FL; handles recording, research, payments, and filing of court cases and fees, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Mailing address | Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, P.O. Box 472, Milton, FL 32572-0472 |
| Phone | (850) 981-5584 (probate division); (850) 981-5554 (Clerk's general line) |
| Fax | (850) 626-5705 (probate division) |
| [email protected] (probate division); public-records requests go to [email protected] | |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (Central Time) |
| Filing fee | F.S. 28.2401 sets the statutory base (formal administration $395; summary administration $340 for estates of $1,000 or more; plus a $4 additional charge on the petition). The Santa Rosa Clerk publishes no county probate fee schedule of its own; its disposition of personal property instruction sheet states a $231.00 filing fee for that path (verified July 2026), and for other totals the Clerk links the statewide fee schedule, so confirm the current total with the probate division at (850) 981-5584 before filing |
| Local probate forms | Yes. The Clerk's Probate/Guardianship page publishes the disposition of personal property without administration packet, caveat forms, a statement of claim, a statement from a physician, a probate change-of-address form, and the circuit's checklists for opening formal administration, closing formal administration, and summary administration (attachments to administrative order SRCAD 2018-02). Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set |
| E-filing | Through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com); mandatory for attorneys, optional for self-represented filers, who may also file on paper at the courthouse in Milton or the Gulf Breeze branch |
| Online case search | The CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Santa Rosa County (civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/57/), linked from the Clerk's search-public-records page; a Public option allows anonymous searching, and Attorney, Registered User, and Party Access tiers under Florida Supreme Court order AOSC 16-107 require an account requested through the Clerk |
| Remote appearance | The First Judicial Circuit conducts Zoom hearings for certain case types; whether a probate matter is heard remotely is decided by the assigned judge, so contact the judge's office in advance and note that hearings run on Central Time |
| Website | https://santarosaclerk.com |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Santa Rosa County, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Florida path fits depends on whether there is a will and on the value and type of the assets: formal administration under F.S. Chapter 733, summary administration under F.S. 735.201 for a smaller estate, or disposition of personal property without administration under F.S. 735.301 for a limited class of estates with no real property. The dollar thresholds that separate these paths are statewide and are explained on the Florida state page; identify the estate first so you and your attorney file the right petition once.
Identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you go to the Clerk. Whether the decedent's Milton, Pace, Navarre, or Gulf Breeze home was homestead property matters, because Florida homestead often passes outside the probate estate and is not counted toward the summary-administration limit. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit serves Santa Rosa County along with Escambia, Okaloosa, and Walton counties. Within Santa Rosa, the court covers the whole county, including Milton (the county seat), the city of Gulf Breeze, the town of Jay, and communities such as Pace, Navarre, Navarre Beach, Midway, Bagdad, East Milton, Holley, Chumuckla, and Munson. Santa Rosa probate matters are filed with the Clerk of Court & Comptroller at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse, 4025 Avalon Boulevard in Milton; the Clerk's South End Service Center at 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze also accepts court filings and payments, and closed court files are archived at the Clerk's records office at 6816 Caroline Street in Milton.
Venue for a decedent's estate is governed by F.S. 733.101. Administration is proper first in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, then, if the decedent had no Florida domicile, in a county where the decedent's property is located, and, if the decedent had neither domicile nor property in Florida, in the county where any debtor of the decedent resides. In practice, file in Santa Rosa County for a decedent who lived here. Probate is heard as a division of the Circuit Court, not by a separate probate court.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will (if any), a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and photo ID, the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and other interested persons, and a list of the assets and debts with values.
- Choose the path based on the estate. Depending on whether there is a will and on the value and type of assets, the route may be formal administration (F.S. Chapter 733), summary administration (F.S. 735.201), or disposition of personal property without administration (F.S. 735.301). The governing thresholds are statewide and are on the Florida state page.
- Confirm whether an attorney is required. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030, the personal representative must be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person (or is the only beneficiary with no other interested persons), or is a Florida-licensed attorney. Because most administrations involve more than one interested person, most Santa Rosa estates are filed through counsel.
- Deposit the original will. The custodian of a will must deposit the original with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death (F.S. 732.901). The original will is filed on paper with the Clerk at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse, 4025 Avalon Boulevard in Milton, not e-filed.
- Prepare the filing. For a formal or summary administration, prepare the petition and supporting documents under the Florida Probate Rules (Fla. Prob. R. 5.010 to 5.530); Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set, so in most cases an attorney prepares and files the papers. Santa Rosa reviews these filings against published checklists (attachments to administrative order SRCAD 2018-02), so match your petition to the checklist for your path. For disposition of personal property without administration, the Clerk publishes the instruction packet and form on its Probate/Guardianship page; that path requires waiting 30 days after the date of death.
- File with the Clerk of Court & Comptroller. Attorneys must e-file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com). A self-represented filer may register and e-file through the portal, or file on paper at the courthouse in Milton or the South End Service Center at 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze. The probate division's mailing address is Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, P.O. Box 472, Milton, FL 32572-0472; call (850) 981-5584 before mailing original documents.
- Pay the filing fee. F.S. 28.2401 sets the statutory base: formal administration $395, summary administration $340 for an estate of $1,000 or more, and disposition of personal property without administration $230, plus a $4 additional charge on administration petitions. The Santa Rosa Clerk's own disposition instruction sheet states a $231.00 filing fee for that path (verified July 2026); confirm the current total for your filing with the probate division at (850) 981-5584 before filing.
- Give notice and publish. The personal representative serves notice on interested persons and publishes a notice to creditors, which opens the creditor-claim period. A creditor must file its claim by the later of 3 months after first publication or 30 days after being served (F.S. 733.702), and in all events within 2 years of death (F.S. 733.710).
- Attend the hearing if one is set. The petition is presented to a First Judicial Circuit judge in the probate division at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse. The circuit conducts Zoom hearings for certain case types; ask the assigned judge's office whether your matter can be heard remotely, and note that Santa Rosa hearings run on Central Time.
- Receive the authority document. On appointment the court issues Letters of Administration, the proof of the personal representative's authority to act, in every case, whether or not there is a will. Request enough certified copies for the banks and institutions involved.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in statutory priority, account to the interested persons, distribute the remaining assets, and close the estate. Santa Rosa publishes a closing checklist for formal administration; match the closing papers to it.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Santa Rosa County
Santa Rosa County publishes more local probate material than most Panhandle counties. The Clerk's Probate/Guardianship page offers the disposition of personal property without administration packet (the instructions state the $231.00 filing fee, verified July 2026 against the F.S. 28.2401 base, and the 30-day wait after the date of death), caveat forms for an interested person and for a creditor, a statement of claim, a statement from a physician, and a change-of-address form for probate cases. It also posts the circuit's probate checklists for opening formal administration, closing formal administration, and summary administration, the attachments to administrative order SRCAD 2018-02 that the court uses to audit each file, so attorneys and qualifying self-represented filers can see exactly what the court expects. There is still no fill-in-the-blank packet for formal or summary administration itself, and Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set: those filings are petitions prepared under the Florida Probate Rules (Fla. Prob. R. 5.010 to 5.530), in most cases by an attorney per Fla. Prob. R. 5.030. The original will is not e-filed; it is deposited on paper with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death (F.S. 732.901). For questions about local intake, call the probate division at (850) 981-5584 or email [email protected].
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Probate/Guardianship forms | The Clerk's probate forms page, with the disposition of personal property packet, caveat forms, statement of claim, the change-of-address form, and the SRCAD 2018-02 checklists for opening and closing formal administration and for summary administration |
| Florida Courts Help, probate (flcourts.gov) | The judiciary's probate self-help page; it explains that no statewide probate forms are provided and points to the Florida Probate Code and local resources |
| Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com) | The statewide portal for filing probate documents; mandatory for attorneys, optional for self-represented filers |
Local nuance
Santa Rosa County-specific considerations
Probate moved to the new courthouse on Avalon Boulevard. Since 2022, Santa Rosa court filings, including probate, are handled at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse, 4025 Avalon Boulevard, Milton, a new courthouse that replaced the 1927 downtown courthouse at 6865 Caroline Street. Older directories still list the Caroline Street address; do not file there. The Clerk's administration and official-records office is at 6495 Caroline Street, Suite A, and closed court files are archived for research at 6816 Caroline Street. Mail for probate cases goes to Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, P.O. Box 472, Milton, FL 32572-0472.
A Gulf Breeze branch accepts court filings. The Clerk's South End Service Center at 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze handles recording, research, payments, and filing of court cases and fees, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For families in Gulf Breeze, Midway, and Navarre, that can replace a trip across the county to Milton for paper filings, though hearings are held at the courthouse on Avalon Boulevard.
Filings are reviewed against published checklists. The circuit reviews Santa Rosa probate files against detailed checklists for opening formal administration, closing formal administration, and summary administration, issued as attachments to administrative order SRCAD 2018-02 and posted on the Clerk's Probate/Guardianship page. Matching the petition and supporting papers to the applicable checklist before filing avoids deficiency notices and speeds review.
Central Time, with case search and Zoom capability. Santa Rosa County observes Central Time, like the rest of the First Judicial Circuit but unlike peninsular Florida, so counter hours, filing cutoffs, and hearing times are an hour behind most of the state. Probate dockets are searchable through the CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Santa Rosa County (civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/57/), where a Public option allows anonymous searching and Attorney, Registered User, and Party Access tiers under Florida Supreme Court order AOSC 16-107 require an account requested through the Clerk. The circuit conducts Zoom hearings for certain case types; the assigned judge decides whether a probate matter is heard remotely.
Recent updates
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Court operations, including probate, moved to the new Santa Rosa County Courthouse at 4025 Avalon Boulevard, Milton, which replaced the 1927 downtown courthouse at 6865 Caroline Street; older directories still list the old address |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Santa Rosa County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Milton, Pace, Navarre, or Gulf Breeze home was the decedent's homestead, Florida homestead protections usually let it pass to the surviving spouse outside the probate estate, often confirmed by a petition to determine homestead status filed with the Clerk of Court & Comptroller. If other assets must be administered, the spouse (through counsel, unless the spouse is the sole interested person under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030) files a summary administration, which ends in an order distributing the assets, or a formal administration, in which the spouse is appointed personal representative and issued Letters of Administration. | Asset discovery to confirm how title is held and what else is in the estate. Packet generation for the qualifying paperwork. A vetted attorney referral where Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 requires counsel. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | A smaller estate that meets the statewide threshold can proceed by summary administration under F.S. 735.201, which appoints no personal representative and ends in an order distributing the assets; a very limited estate with no real property may qualify for disposition of personal property without administration (F.S. 735.301), and the Santa Rosa Clerk publishes the instruction packet and form for that path. Both are filed with the Santa Rosa Clerk, an out-of-state filer can work with Florida counsel through the statewide e-filing portal, and the circuit hears certain matters by Zoom, which can reduce trips to Milton. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the petition, prepared in advance so an out-of-state filer can proceed largely remotely. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that must be sold, it generally proceeds through formal administration under F.S. Chapter 733: the parent, represented by counsel under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030, petitions the Clerk of Court & Comptroller, is appointed personal representative, receives Letters of Administration, and can then sell the home and distribute the proceeds. The matter is heard in the First Judicial Circuit's probate division at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse in Milton, and the opening and closing filings are reviewed against the county's published checklists. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the formal administration filing. Attorney referral, and help if the sale or an heir dispute turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, probate division, (850) 981-5584, [email protected] (santarosaclerk.com) | The filing office for probate; local intake questions, the probate forms and checklists, deposit of wills, filing by mail or in person at the courthouse or the Gulf Breeze branch, and case-search account requests |
| First Judicial Circuit of Florida (firstjudicialcircuit.org) | Court administration for Santa Rosa County, courthouse information, judicial assignments, and video-hearing (Zoom) instructions for the counties the circuit serves |
| CiviTek Online Court Records Search, Santa Rosa County (civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/57/) | The public online docket search for Santa Rosa court records, including probate; the Public option needs no registration |
| Legal Services of North Florida, Pensacola office, 1741 N. Palafox Street, Pensacola, (850) 432-8222 (lsnf.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible residents of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, including elder-law matters and, in limited circumstances, wills, simple estate planning, and some probate matters |
| Florida Courts Help, probate (flcourts.gov/Courts-System/florida-courts-help/other-resources/probate) | The judiciary's probate self-help page, with plain-language information on the probate process |
| Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com) | Registration and self-help for e-filing probate documents, the option available to self-represented filers |
| The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service, (800) 342-8011 (floridabar.org) | Statewide referrals to Florida-licensed probate attorneys, plus the consumer pamphlet Probate in Florida |
When to hire an attorney
Florida makes counsel the norm in probate. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030, the personal representative must be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person, or is the only beneficiary with no other interested persons, or is a Florida-licensed attorney. Because most Santa Rosa estates have more than one interested person, most formal and summary administrations here are handled through counsel, who also e-files through the statewide portal and works from the county's published probate checklists. Consider an attorney early when the estate holds real property that must be sold, when a will contest or heir dispute is likely, when the estate is insolvent or creditors are pressing, or when the estate includes a business interest or out-of-state property. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Florida probate attorney serving Santa Rosa County and the First Judicial Circuit.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Santa Rosa County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Florida estate settlement path fits before you file.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the petition and supporting paperwork for your path, ready to file with the Clerk of Court & Comptroller in Milton through the statewide e-filing portal or on paper.
Find a local probate attorney. Because Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 requires a Florida-licensed attorney in most administrations, Sunset connects families to a vetted Florida probate attorney serving Santa Rosa County and the First Judicial Circuit.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Santa Rosa County?
With the Clerk of Court & Comptroller at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse, 4025 Avalon Boulevard, Milton, FL 32583; the probate division's mailing address is Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, P.O. Box 472, Milton, FL 32572-0472. The probate division's phone is (850) 981-5584. Santa Rosa is in the First Judicial Circuit. Florida has no separate probate court; probate is a division of the Circuit Court. Do not use the old downtown courthouse address at 6865 Caroline Street, which the new courthouse replaced in 2022.
Do I have to e-file probate in Santa Rosa County?
Attorneys must e-file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. A self-represented filer may register and e-file through the same portal, file on paper at the courthouse in Milton or the South End Service Center in Gulf Breeze, or file by mail. The original will is deposited on paper with the Clerk, not e-filed.
Do I need an attorney for probate in Santa Rosa County?
Usually yes. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030, the personal representative must be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney unless the personal representative is the sole interested person (or the only beneficiary with no other interested persons), or is a Florida-licensed attorney. Because most estates have more than one interested person, most Santa Rosa administrations are handled through counsel.
Can I file probate papers in Gulf Breeze instead of driving to Milton?
For paper filings and payments, yes. The Clerk's South End Service Center at 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze handles recording, research, payments, and filing of court cases and fees, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Hearings themselves are held at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse on Avalon Boulevard in Milton.
What are the Santa Rosa County Clerk's hours, and what time zone?
The courthouse and the Clerk's offices are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Santa Rosa County observes Central Time, like the rest of the First Judicial Circuit but unlike most of Florida, so plan counter visits, filing cutoffs, and hearing times accordingly.
Can I appear remotely for a Santa Rosa County probate hearing?
Sometimes. The First Judicial Circuit conducts Zoom hearings for certain case types, and the assigned judge decides whether a matter is heard remotely. Contact the judge's office in advance for the format, the Zoom meeting details, and the time, which runs on Central Time.
Can I look up a Santa Rosa County probate case online?
Yes. Santa Rosa uses the CiviTek Online Court Records Search at civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/57/, linked from the Clerk's search-public-records page. The Public option allows anonymous searching without an account; Attorney, Registered User, and Party Access tiers under Florida Supreme Court order AOSC 16-107 provide enhanced access and require an account requested through the Clerk. You can also call the probate division at (850) 981-5584 to confirm a filing.
What forms do I need for probate in Santa Rosa County?
The Clerk's Probate/Guardianship page publishes the disposition of personal property without administration packet, caveat forms, a statement of claim, a statement from a physician, a probate change-of-address form, and the circuit's checklists for opening formal administration, closing formal administration, and summary administration (administrative order SRCAD 2018-02). There is no fill-in packet for formal or summary administration itself, and Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set: those filings are petitions prepared under the Florida Probate Rules, in most cases by an attorney.
What does it cost to file probate in Santa Rosa County?
F.S. 28.2401 sets the statutory base: formal administration $395, summary administration $340 for an estate of $1,000 or more, and disposition of personal property without administration $230, plus a $4 additional charge on administration petitions. The Santa Rosa Clerk's own disposition instruction sheet states a $231.00 total for that path (verified July 2026); the Clerk publishes no county schedule of probate totals of its own, so confirm the current total for your filing with the probate division at (850) 981-5584 before filing.
Do I have to travel to Milton to settle an estate there?
Not always. Attorneys and self-represented filers can file through the statewide e-filing portal, paper filings are accepted at the Gulf Breeze branch as well as the Milton courthouse, and the probate division takes mail at Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, P.O. Box 472, Milton, FL 32572-0472 (call (850) 981-5584 before mailing original documents). The First Judicial Circuit hears certain matters by Zoom, so ask the assigned judge's office whether your hearing can be handled remotely.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.